Appointments

There are several reasons for this and we offer some suggestions to help

Patients come to a single appointment with many problems

This is probably the main reason the doctor does not run to time

The time allocated for your appointment – fifteen minutes – is usually only sufficient for the doctor to deal adequately with a single problem (although we will never cut a consultation short as we do believe in giving your problem due consideration if it takes a little longer to deal with)

If you feel you will need to spend more time with the doctor, or have a number of issues you wish to discuss, please book a double appointment
If we have called you in for review we will not have time to deal with any other issues within the same appointment; please book an additional appointment so we can allocate the time that you need

Patients arriving late for their appointment

Please try to arrive on time for your appointment. If you are late every patient seen after you will probably be seen late

Although we will usually try to “slot you in” somewhere if you are late, you may have to wait until the end of the surgery. We cannot guarantee we will be able to see you

Other family members, friends wish to be seen at the same time

Please could we request one patient only per appointment?

Emergencies

Due to the nature of our work, unpredictable, inevitable and unavoidable emergency telephone calls, requests for help from other staff members, emergency consultations and home visits do occur. We ask for your understanding and empathy when these situations arise.

If your doctor is running late, it is likely to be for a good reason and we will be happy to provide you with an explanation